A top official at the state Department of Toxic Substances Control is the new chief of San Diego Coastkeeper, one of the region's highest-profile environmental groups.

Gale Filter starts July 18. He replaces longtime executive director Bruce Reznik who resigned in late 2010 after more than a decade with the group, saying Coastkeeper needed new energy and vision. In May, Reznik took the helm of the Planning and Conservation League, a nonprofit lobbying group in Sacramento.

At the toxic substances agency, Filter was deputy director of enforcement and emergency response. He's credited with creating the agency's Environmental Justice Enforcement Initiative, a community-based policing and task force program that focuses on “spotting and squishing” environmental harms. A group at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government honored the initiative as a 2010 "bright idea."

“Enforcement is powerful, but the power of collaboration should not be overlooked. In many cases, I’ve found that we can achieve compliance if the parties involved possess a collective will to address and fix the environmental problem,” Filter said. “We have much to gain from working together to improve the health of our environment."

Filter also has worked as deputy executive director for consumer, environmental and legal services at the California District Attorneys Association and as a deputy district attorney in Imperial County.

Coastkeeper said Gale has a law degree from the University of San Diego, a master of public administration degree from Governors State University in Illinois and a bachelor's degree from Humboldt State University.

“Enforcing the law is at the heart of every Waterkeeper organization, and Gale has built his professional career on this notion,” said David Welborn, president of Coastkeeper's board. “He brings to San Diego Coastkeeper a long history of success in environmental leadership and enforcement perfectly paired with a commitment to education and collaboration.”

Gabriel Solmer, who worked as interim executive director of Coastkeeper since late 2010, will continue her role as legal director, leading the organization’s Environmental Law & Policy Clinic.